STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2522

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2385

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2385, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BEVERAGES FOR CHILDREN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages and certain other beverages served in child care facilities.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, American Heart Association, Hawaii Children's Action Network, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, and forty-four individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health and Department of Human Services.

     Your Committee finds that children derive 10 to 15 percent of their total calories from sugary beverages.  Drinking one 12-ounce soda every day increases a child's odds of becoming obese by 60 percent and doubles the risk of dental caries.  Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years, and one in three children entering kindergarten in Hawaii is overweight or obese.  In Hawaii, close to 65,000 children attend some form of non‑parental child care.  By limiting the type of drinks that are served in child care facilities, an enormous number of calories and related health risks can be avoided.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2385, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

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ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair